Writing - part xx080 Writing a Novel, Protagonist and Life

22 December 2019, Writing - part xx080 Writing a Novel, Protagonist and Life

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t succeed in the past business and publishing environment.  I'll keep you informed, but I need a new publisher.  More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing websites http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

1.     Design the initial scene

2.     Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)

a.     Research as required

b.     Develop the initial setting

c.     Develop the characters

d.     Identify the telic flaw (internal and external)

3.     Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

4.     Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)

5.     Write the climax scene

6.     Write the falling action scene(s)

7.     Write the dénouement scene

I finished writing my 29^th novel, working title, Detective, potential title Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective.  The theme statement is: Lady Azure Rose Wishart, the Chancellor of the Fae, supernatural detective, and all around dangerous girl, finds love, solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.  

Here is the cover proposal for Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I am continuing to write on my 30^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29^th novel, working title Detective.  I’m planning to start on number 31, working title Shifter. 

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

For novel 30:  Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

For novel 31:  Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events. 

Here is the scene development outline:

1. Scene input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)

2. Write the scene setting (place, time, stuff, and characters)

3. Imagine the output, creative elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop the tension and release.

4. Write the scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.

5. Write the release

6. Write the kicker

          

Today:  Why don’t we go back to the basics and just writing a novel?  I can tell you what I do, and show you how I go about putting a novel together.  We can start with developing an idea then move into the details of the writing. 

To start a novel, I picture an initial scene.  I may start from a protagonist or just launch into mental development of an initial scene.  I get the idea for an initial scene from all kinds of sources.  To help get the creative juices flowing, let’s look at the initial scene. 

1.     Meeting between the protagonist and the antagonist or the protagonist’s helper

2.     Action point in the plot

3.     Buildup to an exciting scene

4.     Indirect introduction of the protagonist

Perhaps I should go back and look again at the initial scene—maybe, I’ll cover that again as part of looking at the rising action.  The reason is that I’m writing a rising action in a novel right now.

That gets us back to the protagonist—complexity makes the protagonist and the telic flaw one and the same. 

The novel is a revelation of the protagonist.  The telic flaw is connected directly to the protagonist.  The plot is the revelation of the telic flaw.  This connects the protagonist to the plot and the telic flaw.  The point is that to plan a novel, I simply need to plan the revelation of the protagonist.  To accomplish this, you need to develop a protagonist.

When I write you develop your protagonist, you write notes about:

1.     Name

2.     Background

3.     Education

4.     Appearance

5.     Work

6.     Wealth

7.     Skills

8.     Mind

9.     Likes

10.  Dislikes

11.  Opinions

12.  Honor

13.  Life (Secrets)

14.  Thoughts

15.  Telic flaw

I design a protagonist around the initial scene.  This is the way I write a novel.  This isn’t the only way to write a novel, but it is the way I have discovered to write well-conceived and powerful novels.  This goes back to the initial scene. 

Above, I gave you four options for developing the initial scene.  Yesterday, I told you to take two off.  Authors have used three and four, but they don’t produce the kinds of exciting initial scenes we want.  Here’s the list again.

1.     Meeting between the protagonist and the antagonist or the protagonist’s helper

2.     Action point in the plot

3.     Buildup to an exciting scene

4.     Indirect introduction of the protagonist

Let’s plan to put one and two together.  Let’s also focus on the other characteristics of the initial scene.  Notice that first, the initial scene must include the protagonist.  This should be obvious, but let’s go down the list. 

I guess the life of the protagonist includes everything.  My perspective is that the life of the protagonist is the revelation of the protagonist.  These are the secrets I reveal to my readers.  And, boy should your protagonist have secrets.

Life for a protagonist, in my opinion, is all about secrets.  This is what keeps the novel fresh and drives every scene.  I actually look at each scene and think: what secrets should I reveal about the protagonist, and is it time to reveal certain secrets, even should this secret even be revealed?  This is how I look at every scene. 

Now, there is a whole lot more that goes into each scene: action, excitement, settings, characters, interactions, dialog, and all.  I just add secrets and the revelation of secrets into that mix.  Here’s a great example of a secret.  In Blue Rose Enchantment and the Detective, Miss Highgate is a vampire and Accilia is a wearcreature.  I never ever tell you this in any way.  I show you all kinds of evidence, but no one ever comes out and says Miss Highgate is a vampire or Accilia is a wearcreature.  Of course, I would never tell you this.  How much more fun and interesting is it that this is a great secret?  I allude to the fact of their supernatural existence, and many talk around it as if they know or suspect, but this is a wonderful secret.  Perhaps I will reveal it in another novel.  For now, this is an unrevealed secret in the novel, and there is no reason to reveal it.

Miss Highgate and Accilia are somewhat tangential characters.  They happen to be Azure Rose’s friends and Miss Highgate is Azure’s landlady.  By the way, Miss Highgate is named for the famous Highgate vampire in London.  If you knew about vampires, you might ask.

Secrets.  How I love secrets in novels.  Azure Rose has plenty of secrets.  She may be the most secretive character I have ever written.  She has multiple identities and expresses multiple personalities.  That’s not to say she has a mental disorder—Azure Rose is a consummate actress.  She takes one a different persona for each of her identities.  This is a continual point of revelation and entertainment through the novel.  The life of this protagonist is secrets.  I’d like to say, the life of all of my protagonists is secrets, but sometimes it isn’t them, it is my plot.

The other side of this secrets coin is Shiggy from Sorcha: Enchantment and the Curse.  Everything around Shiggy is a secret.  She is constantly attempting to and learning about the new world she has entered.  That world isn’t so odd, but it is filled with secrets.  The reason is that Shiggy is begin trained to become a secret agent for a supernatural intelligence unit.  This unit conducts normal and supernatural operations, but Shiggy is constantly learning more and more about both the supernatural world she is in and the intelligence work she must do.  I love this kind of secret as well.  The protagonist doesn’t have so many secrets, but the world around the protagonist is filled with secrets.  Then you can have both.

In my novel Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire, both the protagonist and the world around him is filled with secrets.  George Marding is a secret agent.  He rescues a vampire.  He has secrets.  The vampire, Valeska, has secrets.  The world they are in and the intelligence unit they become involved with has secrets.  Secrets on secrets on secrets.  Write about secrets or more specifically, don’t write about secrets at all—show them, don’t tell them.

Here’s the point.  The life of your protagonist is all about revelation.  Much of that revelation is a secret that is to be revealed to the readers.  There is no reason to tell your readers anything—show them it all.  Not all at once, but with each scene, plan the secrets to reveal and reveal them all by showing.  No telling.  If the actual words of the secret never pass another’s lips even better.  If your readers aren’t completely certain that’s even better.  Don’t confuse them, just let them in on the secrets, slowly, gently, secretly, through showing.

For your protagonist to have secrets, you really need notes and to know those secrets.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com  

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